los nombres Los Nombres (CD, £12.50)

label: Asterisk

One part War, two parts Santana, a dash of Motown, immersed in a rich Puerto Rican stock, the Nombres were the undisputed kings of Northern Ohio's rust-belt barrios. Following successive explosions of brown-eyed and latin soul in Los Angeles and New York in the mid and late '60s, Lorain, Ohio's Boricua underdogs went on a recording tear in nearby Cleveland, going all-in on a series of no-budget recordings at Boddie and Way Out. With a voice that rivaled any on the Fania roster, Willie Marquez led the rotating cast of Latino teens through numerous underfunded recording sessions for the Day-Wood, Beth, and Lorain Sounds imprints, the lo-fi fruits of which are compiled here.